


What You Need.

by WhatTheWentz



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Human, Anxiety, Child Neglect, Depression, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Esteem Issues, Toxic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-09-20 14:32:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9495845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatTheWentz/pseuds/WhatTheWentz
Summary: When Mason finds a crying Corey in the school bathroom, an unusual, yet beautiful friendship (and possibly more) begins.  However, Corey's controlling, manipulative and abusive boyfriend Theo is not willing to let him go.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> So I decided to write after noticing there wasn't many Mason/Corey fics on this website, and I opted to fix that. Sorry if it's awful.

**{COREY POV}**

 

 

_How did things get so bad?_

 

The sentence ran through my head as I sat unceremoniously in one of the men’s room cubicles, my knees drawn up to my chest as my eyes scanned over the words brightly broadcasted on my phone.

 

_‘Theo: meet me at our spot.  Now.’_

 

I wasn’t sure how I had gotten myself into this mess.  First, it had been a nice relationship with stolen kisses and sneaking around to avoid my parents who didn’t know about me.  Then all of a sudden, I found myself in an impossible situation.

 

I sniffled, wiping tears from my cheeks and cursing under my breath.  I was such a crybaby; Theo always said that it made me look like a coward.  He was right, of course.  He always was, it was his gift.

 

The weakly veiled aggression in the text got my heart racing and I pulled at my sleeves unconsciously, terrified that someone would see his marks there.  I didn’t want to leave the little bubble I had formed around myself; it was cozy and warm and I was alone, just like I wanted.

 

Sadly, I knew that eventually, he’d come and find me if I didn’t go and meet him, and that would only increase his anger toward me.

 

Another sob broke from me, louder this time, uncontrollable.  I considered returning to class but knew that they probably didn’t remember me being there in the first place.

 

The bathroom door opened and I heard someone come in, muttering under their breath.  For a quick second, I considered that it could’ve been Theo and my heart skipped a beat in terror, but when I listened closer, I could tell it wasn’t his voice.

 

Whilst trying to hold my breath, I accidentally let another sob break through and the guy stopped in his tracks.

 

“Hello?” he called, “Is anybody there?”

 

I swore, then swallowed, “Y-Yeah.  J-Just a second.  I’m fine.”

 

“You don’t sound it.” the voice said, “Do you want me to call someone?”

 

At first I was confused; nobody had ever shown me any kind of concern before, but I shoved it off, “I-I said I’m fine!”

 

_Good job, Corey.  Someone shows you an inkling of concern and you practically yell at them?  You deserve Theo._

 

Instead of leaving, the other guy simply slung his bag onto the floor and sat down beside it, which added to my confusion.

 

“W-What are you doing?” I asked.

 

He replied, “Being a good person.”

 

“Don’t you have class?” I huffed.

 

He retorted, “Don’t you?  Now, you don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but I can’t help your situation if you don’t.”

 

“You don’t even know me.” I stated.

 

He said, “Well, let's start there then.  You got a name?  I’m Mason.”  


“Wait… Mason Hewitt?” I arched an eyebrow, “I think you’re in my physics class.”

 

Mason asked, “Cool.  So what’s your name?”

 

“Corey.” I replied, “Corey Bryant.”

 

“I know you.  You’re that really quiet kid, right?” He queried.

 

I blushed, “Yeah.” after a second of silence, I got to my feet, “One second, I’m just going to open the door.  Makes it easier to talk to you if I can see you.”

 

“Okay.” he shuffled, presumably away from the door, and I opened it so I could go to sit beside him, “You okay?”

 

I shrugged, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“I understand.” he nodded, “I’m skipping math because the teacher seems to hate me.”

 

I asked, “Is that Ms. Flemming?”

 

“Yep.” Mason said, “I get one B- and she’s on my ass for the whole term.”

 

I managed a small laugh at that, “B- is better than anything I’m getting.  I suck.”

 

“I’m sure that’s not true.” he gave an encouraging smile, “If you want, I can help you study some time.”

 

I smiled, looking up at him and finally noticing just how cute he was, “I would like that.” my phone buzzed and I sighed, my heart sinking with sadness as I got to my feet, “I have to go, but I’ll see you in class I guess?”

 

“Okay.” he waved, “See ya, Corey.”

 

***

 

When I arrived at Theo and I’s ‘spot’ -- an old cave we had found in the woods, I saw him standing looking rather displeased, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“You’re late.” his voice was harsh and filled with something akin to rage.

 

I dipped my head out of his range of sight, “Sorry.  Had to wait to get out of class.  What do you want?”

 

“I wanted to see my boyfriend.” he stepped forward and reached out to stroke my cheek and by pure accident, I flinched, “What’s wrong?   You’re not bored of me are you?”

 

His hand reached down and grabbed my wrist hard enough to hurt, and I looked up at him, stammering, “O-Of course not.  Your text j-just seemed… you seemed upset.”  


“I am.” he huffed, his nails now digging into my skin, “You see, Josh, the dude I work with, got me in trouble with his boss.  I don’t know… I guess I’m just frustrated.”  


I winced and reminded him, “You’re hurting me.”

 

“What?  Oh.” he released my wrist, and when I clutched it to my chest, he scoffed, “Don’t be such a baby.”

 

I flinched again, “I-I’m sorry.  I’m just made of glass, I guess.”

 

“Come here.” he ordered, and I did as he said.  He cupped my cheek once more, “I love that you’re so supportive of me.  I really need it, and you know that if you ever left me, I’d probably do something I’d regret.”

 

I swallowed, then rested my hands atop of his, “I wouldn’t do that.  You know I love you.”  


He stepped forward and kissed me roughly, his hands moving so he could dig his nails into my back.  I whimpered into the kiss, a noise he mistook for enjoyment, and so he tugged me into the cave before leading me to the makeshift bed we had made together during what had felt like a happier time.

 

“Wait.” I froze, “I can’t.”

 

He tilted his head, eyes blazing with anger once more, “You’re not chickening out on me, are you Corey?”

 

“I don’t want to do this.” I stated, “Not right now.  I’m not in the mood.”

 

He sat down on the bed and gave me an increasingly terrifying glare, “Fine.  Then you obviously don’t want any of this.”  


“You can’t force me into--”

 

I was cut off when Theo’s fist came flying into my face, knocking me to the ground.  Instantly, pain spread out over the area, the skin heating up from the impact.  Tears welled in my eyes but I was desperate not to let them fall.

 

He skulked around my crumpled form, his eyes trained like a hawk that was looking at his prey.  He bent down.

 

“You don’t _ever_ talk back to me.” his voice was filled with venom and I tensed up more with each and every word until he yelled, _“You hear me?”_

 

I was unable to control the sobs any longer and nodded as I wept out, “I’m sorry.” repeatedly, remaining in my position on the ground.

 

“Get up.” he commanded, and when I didn’t, he rose his voice once more, _“Get up!”_

 

Trembling, I got to my feet, my legs feeling like they were about to buckle.  I avoided Theo’s eyes, scared that he was going to strike me again.  I loved him with all of my heart, but he terrified me.

 

His hand cupped my chin and he lifted my head to assess the damage he had caused.  When he saw that his lash out had simply caused the skin to go red, he smiled relievedly and pulled me into a hug.

 

Despite myself, I had to hug back, sobbing like a child into his shoulder.  I knew it was wrong and that people who loved each other didn’t treat each other like that, but I couldn’t help it.  He was my weakness, and I was already weak.  He was like a poison that had gotten deep into my veins and was slowly killing me but I didn’t care because the high was too addictive for me to let go.

 

When he pulled back from the hug, he had tears in his eyes, utilising his skilled tactic of emotionally manipulating me once more as he asked, “Please don’t leave me?”

 

I had sussed this game out a long time ago and I knew how he was playing it and yet, I couldn’t help but fall for it every time.  He knew me, and that was the problem; he could hurt me a million times, and yet could still make me stay.

 

My issue was that I lacked the self-confidence to manage on my own and he knew exactly how to use that against me.  Around him, I felt both free and captured in different ways and it was toxic and deadly but still euphoric.

 

Seeing him standing with teary eyes tugged at my heartstrings and I stroked his cheek, forgiving him despite myself.

 

“I won’t.” I assured and I felt him crash his lips harshly against mine once more, the overwhelming taste of mint toothpaste coming to my senses.

 

***

 

Hours later, after we had spent some quiet hours in the cave, we parted ways and I headed back home.  Theo didn’t follow me for a reason, he knew that if my parents found out I was dating a guy, they’d flip.

 

When I went into the house, I saw mom and dad both lying on the couch, empty bottles of alcohol scattered across the ground.  I maneuvered as quietly as possible into the kitchen and microwaved myself some food before heading straight upstairs to my room.

 

After nearly seventeen years, I had figured out that it was best to avoid any situations with them.  I rested my plate of food on my bed whilst I darted into the bathroom to check my face for any developing injuries.  Thankfully, there seemed to be no swelling or bruising, only a little area of redness which would probably disappear by the following day.

 

I headed back to my room and ate some of my food whilst scouring my social media.  All of a sudden, I noticed I had a friend request, strangely enough, from Mason.  After a couple of seconds of consideration, I accepted the request and within five minutes received a message from him.

 

\--

  


**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_Hey Corey, it’s mason, we met in the bathroom (that sounded a lot better in my head).  Just checking up on u.  U okay?_

  


_\--_

 

I read the message with the faintest bit of disbelief; he was _still_ concerned about me.  Nobody had ever been this persistent, most just gave up on me.

 

I replied;

 

_Im fine thank you._

 

I waited a couple of minutes for him to reply and when he did, I couldn’t help but smile.  Our conversation followed:

 

\--

 

**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_Im good but I wanted to ask about that study plan we made.  What days r u free?_

  


**_Corey Bryant:_ **

_Im free on thursdays usually.  That good for u?_

  


**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_Thats great!! Also u can sit with me & my friends tomorrow if u want _

 

_\--_

 

I looked at the words, unconvinced and my anxiety got the better of me once more.

 

\--

  


**_Corey Bryant:_ **

_R u tricking me?  Pretending to like me for some kind of joke?_

  


**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_Why would I do that?  I’m trying 2 be nice._

  


**_Corey Bryant:_ **

_Nobody’s ever this nice to me without some kind of hidden agenda_

  


**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_I’m not an asshole.  I’m actually rlly nice, or thats what ppl say_

  


**_Corey Bryant:_ **

_Im sorry.  I screwed this up, didnt i?  Ur being nice and I take it the wrong way.  Im so sorry_

  


**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_No need to apologise.  Im going 2 bed (im rlly tired) so see u tomorrow:)_

  


**_Corey Bryant:_ **

_Night :)_

 

_\--_

 

I took a shaky breath, my eyes scanning through the messages once more.  I huffed a sigh then ate a couple more bites of my food before sighing.  It seemed as though I had made my first friend, which simultaneously worried me because I knew Theo was the type to get jealous.

 

Oh well.  I would hope for the best.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey meets Mason's friends, however, it does not all go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm going to try and update this as much as possible considering the fact that I have work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hope you enjoy.

**{COREY POV}**

 

The following day in school, I mostly tried to avoid attention, sticking to the corners, invisible as usual.  What I didn’t expect was for Mason to come up to me, grinning gregariously, as if we had been friends for ages.

 

“Hey!” he greeted, “Who’ve you got first?”

 

I stammered, “Um… I-I… uh…”

 

“Right.” he gave a small laugh, “I’m being too forward, aren’t I?  Sorry, my parents are always telling me that I’m overconfident.  You don’t have to be my friend if you don’t want, I completely understand if you don’t, it’s just-- I’m just… wow, I’m babbling.”

 

Uncontrollably, I giggled, “It’s okay.  And, yeah.  I want to be friends.” after I stopped laughing, I paused and dipped my head, “It’s just… I don’t know… I’ve never really had friends.  And most people who found me the way you did wouldn’t want to be friends.  They’d laugh at me.”

 

“So I found you…” he lowered his voice,  _ “crying.   _ So what?  People cry.  It doesn’t make them terrible or embarrassing.  It makes them human.” he nudged me gently and offered, “Let’s just start over?”

 

I nodded, “Okay.”

 

“So I’m Mason…” he began, inciting a laugh from me, “Nah, lets skip the introduction bullshit.  Anyway, I’ve got History with Mr. Yukimura first.  You?”   
  


I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked alongside him, “I’ve got English, I think.”

 

“Awesome.” he smiled, “I’ll walk you.” he paused awkwardly, then turned his head, “I-If you want, I mean.  I wouldn’t wanna be too forward.  God, I have gotta stop doing that.”   
  


I said, “It’s okay.  I don’t mind.”   
  


“Good.” he nudged me, “Because if I fucked up another potential friendship because of my over-friendliness, it’d be a whole world of suck.  So just tell me if it gets too much, okay?  I promise I won’t get offended.”

 

I smiled as we walked, “It’s okay.  I don’t mind it.  It’s just… I’m not used to people liking me.  I’m weird.”

 

Mason retorted, “It’s better to be weird than to be boring.  Trust me.”

 

When we arrived at my class, I stopped, “Well, this is where I am.”

 

“I’ll catch you later, Corey.” Mason said, giving a wave before turning and leaving.

 

I couldn’t help the grin on my face as I made my way to my seat, slinging my bag under the desk.  It was strange; I had this unfamiliar feeling in my chest, something I hadn’t felt in a long time, like something was finally going right for me.

 

As if on cue to bring me back down, my phone vibrated and I subtly managed to check it.  I huffed in annoyance when I saw it was Theo.

 

_ ‘Theo: need 2 see u bby.  miss u.  skip class & meet me in 15 at our spot.’ _

 

I sighed and opted to turn off my phone instead.

 

***

 

When lunch came a couple of hours later, Mason immediately crossed our physics class and nudged me, the same way he had earlier.  I looked up at him as I put my books away and smiled.

 

“You up for this?” he asked.

 

I mulled over my answer for a couple of quick seconds, then nodded, “Yeah.  Yeah I am.”

 

“Awesome.” he signalled over two of his friends in the class, then introduced them as I packed my bag up, “Corey, this is Liam and Hayden.”

 

I smiled as I scanned my eyes over the two; the girl, Hayden, was grinning at me as she leaned into Liam, presumably her boyfriend’s, side.

 

“I think you’re in a couple of my other classes.” Liam noted.

 

I nodded, “Aren’t you on the lacrosse team?”

 

“Yep.” Liam smirked, “I plan on being captain.  Eventually.”

 

Mason scoffed, “He’s an ambitious one, isn’t he?”

 

“Or arrogant.” Hayden remarked, and at Liam’s look of offense, she rolled her eyes, “I’m joking.  You know I believe in you, baby.” she kissed his cheek, then giggled.

 

Mason rolled his eyes, “Ugh, you two are  _ nauseating.”  _ he turned to me and hissed,  _ “Straight people.” _

_   
_ I was slightly taken back by that and stammered, “Y-You’re gay?”

 

“Got a problem with that?” he asked, his voice twinged with the tiniest bit of regret.

 

I shook my head almost instantly and a flood of words that were almost nonsensical strung together came flooding out, “No.  No, of course not.  Being gay is… I support gay people.  Fully.  B-But I’m not… I’m not gay.  I’m… uh…” heat flushed up my cheeks and I ducked my head in embarrassment.

 

“Hey.” he reached out and touched my shoulder, his look one of understanding, “It’s alright.  I got it.”

 

It took a couple of seconds compiled of pushing back my intrusive and dark thoughts for me to gain the confidence to look back at him, “Okay.  S-Sorry I kind of--”   
  


“I get it.” he smiled and squeezed my shoulder lightly, “Now, let’s get lunch.” he walked beside me as he continued to talk, “You have  _ got  _ to meet Scott and Stiles, they are so awesome.”

 

Liam rolled his eyes, “It’s just because you have a crush on Scott that you’re saying that.”

 

“That was like two years ago, dude!” Mason retorted, “You need to learn to stop clinging onto the past.”

 

Liam smirked, “I can’t help it.  I’m a clinger.”

 

“Definitely.” Hayden laughed as she burrowed her face into his neck, “You’re the clingiest I’ve ever dated.”

 

Liam said, “Says the girl who’s trying to insert herself into my skin.”

 

I couldn’t help but laugh at their bantering as we all grabbed our lunch and then approached a table where several seniors all sat.

 

Mason introduced us, “Corey, this is Scott and his boyfriend Stiles.” he pointed to two dark haired boys, one who was staring at his phone as he typed aggressively.

 

“Technically, we’re not  _ actually  _ dating.” the one on his phone remarked, looking up.

 

The boy next to him feigned outrage with an overdramatic gasp, then crossed his arms and pouted, “I hate you, Stiles.” he remarked.

 

“Noooo, you don’t, baby.” Stiles rested his chin on the other boy’s shoulder whilst he continued to text.

 

Mason huffed a laugh and continued to introduce me to his friends, “This is Malia and Kira.” he gestured to two girls who were sitting next to each other, one who was eating her food enthusiastically.

 

The other, a girl who seemed a bit nervous, smiled at me, “H-Hey.  I’m Kira.”   
  


“Nice to meet you.” I smiled back.

 

Mason continued, “This is Lydia and Allison.” he gestured to two girls who looked up and studied me closely, one a brunette who had a hint of sadness in her eyes, the other a redhead who had a book in her hands.   Mason then pointed to the last two in the group, “And here are Jackson and Isaac, the more miserable versions of Scott and Stiles.”

 

“Are you insinuating that we’re dating?” one of them, a blonde who had a scarf wrapped around his neck asked, “Because no.”

 

Mason scoffed, “Oh, please.  You guys practically invented latent sexual tension.  We’re adults, you can tell us.”   
  


“You know for an adult, you sure do act like a two year old, Mason.” the other boy, someone who had a more intimidating look about him, growled before looking with disgust down at his plate, “What is it they are even serving here?” he dragged his fork through the food whilst grimacing, “It’s inedible.”   
  


Isaac remarked, “Only because it wasn’t made by your butler or some other person from your staff, Mr. Rich Boy.”   
  


“Oh, screw you, Lahey.” he rolled his eyes.

 

Isaac retorted, “In your sad pathetic wet dreams, Whittemore.”

 

Mason pulled up a chair to the table and I did the same, sitting down next to him and freezing slightly due to the overwhelming feeling of anxiety as I stared down at the large group of friends Mason had.   I wasn’t entirely comfortable being around so many people at once; it was overwhelming, to say the least.  And yet, I didn’t exactly feel unhappy either.

 

It was strange.  I wasn’t sure how to handle the emotions bubbling up inside me as I listened to the idle chatter of the group, poking at my sandwich with mild interest.

 

Then Mason asked me quietly, turning to face me, “You okay?”

 

“I’m…” I sighed, putting down my food, “I’m not used to this many people.”   
  


Mason frowned, “I’m pushing again, aren’t I?”

 

“No, that’s not it, it’s ju--”

 

I was cut off by Jackson who asked, “So, how long have you lived in Beacon Hills, Corey?”

 

Caught off guard, I struggled to form an answer, “I-I-- uh… I--”

 

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked, smirking wryly as he leaned back in his chair.

 

Mason glanced at me, taking in my look of discomfort and then, to my surprised, snapped at Jackson, “Don’t be a douche, Jackson!” he turned to me, “Don’t mind him.  He’s nosy and intrusive.”

 

“And you’re just Liam’s token gay best friend.” Jackson retorted, “Do tell me how that isn’t an overused cliche?”

 

This remark earned him glares from everyone at the table sans myself, who was avoiding even looking in his direction.

 

Allison remarked, “Actually, in this group we’re in, I’d say you were one of the ‘token straights’.  That’s presuming that you are, of course.  I could be wrong.”

 

“Oh, please.” Jackson rolled his eyes, “You and Lydia?  Not going to last.  Malia and Kira?  A phase.  Scott and Stiles?  Going to end in tears.” he turned his attention back to Mason, “Which brings me to you, Mason.   You don’t even have a boyfriend.  Unless this kid was your pathetic attempt to pull.”

 

Isaac grabbed his arm and hissed, “Jack.  That’s enough.  People are staring.”   
  


“Good.” he smirked, “I want them to.  That’s the only way that they see the goods, isn’t it?”

 

The scarved boy scoffed, “You’re an ass.”

 

“Don’t tell me you  _ actually  _ are one of these gay people?” Jackson laughed cruelly, “Looks like Liam, Hayden and I are a dying breed.  But at least we can procreate and actually contribute to the world.  Unlike you gays.”

 

Isaac’s voice became softer as he asked, “Have you taken your meds today?  You know you say things you don’t mean when you’re angry.  And you’re always angry without them.”

 

“Oh, screw you.” Jackson spat back at him, “In fact, don’t.  You’d probably like it.” he slammed the table loudly and glared down at me, “Aww, look at the newbie.  Such a chicken.  I’m not going to hurt you.”

 

As soon as his hands hit the table, my pulse jumped, and I grabbed my bag before sprinting off out of the diner, tears welling in my eyes.

 

***   
  


**{MASON POV}**

 

I stared at where Corey had been with an overwhelming feeling of guilt and anger brewing within me.  I had caused this.  I had rushed things, and Jackson had gotten out of control and now Corey was gone.

 

“You’re a freaking asshole, you know that?” Malia growled at Jackson, who settled back down in his seat with a smug look upon his face.

 

Isaac attempted to defend him, “It’s not his fault, Lia.  You know how he gets when he doesn’t take his meds.”

 

“I don’t need you to speak for me, asshole.” Jackson hissed, but I could see that he was beginning to settle back down now that most of his anger had been expelled, “Ugh.  What did I do?”

 

I got to my feet, “You did what you do best, Jack.  You screwed things up and now Corey might not speak to me again.”

 

“I didn’t mean t-”

 

I held up my hand, “I am going after him, and I want you to think up one hell of an apology whilst I’m gone.”  I got to my feet and grabbed Corey’s lunch as well as my bag.

 

“Wait, Mason.” Allison piped up, and when I turned around, she was on her feet, “I’ll come with.”   
  


Lydia frowned, “I thought we were heading to the library?”

 

“Sorry, Lyds.” Allison sighed, “I’ll make it up to you.”   
  


Lydia nodded, “You better.”

 

Before Allison came after me, the redhead grabbed her girlfriend by her shirt and pulled her into a chaste kiss, smiling into it like she was the happiest woman in the world.  When they broke away, they were gazing into each other’s eyes as if none of the others nor myself existed and it was just them in that moment.

 

Then Allison turned away and it was like the sun had left from Lydia’s world as she looked back down.   Jackson seemed to slump in his chair as the weight of his words came into fruition, but I didn’t really care as I walked out of the dining hall with Allison at my side.

 

“I’ll hold your lunches.” she offered, taking them from my hands.  After a couple of seconds of silence as we walked through the halls, she asked, “So where did you meet Corey?”

 

I struggled to answer that -- how could I explain that I had randomly found him crying when even I didn’t understand why he was so upset?

 

Instead, I swiftly changed the subject, “I think he might’ve went down here.” I signalled down to where the men’s bathroom was.   
  
“Fine.” she sighed, “Don’t answer me.”   
  


I felt guilt at that, and caved in, “Okay, I shouldn’t tell you this.  I found him in the men’s room yesterday.  He was crying.  No, I don’t know why, but I felt like I had to help him out.  I was just trying to be a good person, but now he’s upset because I pushed him too hard to meet my friends.”

 

“Oh.” she seemed taken aback by my confession, “Well.” she swallowed back her words and straightened, “I can’t go into the men’s room so I’ll just… wait out here.” she handed me Corey’s lunch and took my bag before I walked into the toilets.

 

I gasped in shock when I saw Corey sitting against the far wall, his knees pulled up to his chest as he muffled sobs into his legs.  It took me a second to react, but I went over and sat in front of him, settling his lunch to the side before resting a hand on his arm.

 

As soon as our skin touched, he froze up, looking at me for a split second before curling up once again.  I pulled back my hand.

 

“Corey… I’m sorry.” I murmured, “Jackson shouldn’t have said what he said.  But the thing is… he’s got anger issues.  When he gets riled up, sometimes he says and does things that he can’t control and that he regrets later on.  Most of the time, anyway.  He’s been off his medication recently, or at least, that’s what Isaac thinks.”

 

Corey lifted his head and let out a wet sniffle, “This was a mistake.”

 

“No, Corey.” I frowned, “He’s not always like that, I swear.”   
  


Corey shook his head, “Not  _ that.   _ Me.  Making friends.  It’s a mistake, always is.  I should just… I should go.” he grabbed his bag and lunch, “Thanks for bringing me this.” he mumbled.

 

“Corey… wait.” I pleaded, getting up, “Look, we can sort through this.  Just stay here with me.”

 

“No.” he said, “Trust me, Mason.  I’m  _ not  _ the guy you wanna be friends with.  I’m nothing.  Just move on with your life.  It’ll be better for all involved.”   
  


He stormed past me, leaving the bathroom whilst I remained frozen to the spot, horrified at how someone so nice and friendly would think so lowly of themselves.

 

Allison poked her head in, “What was that about?”

  
“I don’t know.” I sighed, my breath shuddering, “I have a pretty bad feeling though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, don't forget to leave a review/kudos! Feedback is always loved and appreciated.
> 
> Question Of The Chapter: Favourite Character (in both the story and the show)
> 
> Answer Of The Chapter: for the story, I'd have to say Mason, but for the show, Corey. Although I love Scott, Malia, Allison and Kira in the show too!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey gets a visit and Mason wants to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that update came fast for me. I'll try to update as much as I can!

 

**{COREY POV}**

 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure where I was going.  My mind had completely spaced out from reality as I wandered aimlessly and yet somehow, ended back up at my house.

 

I stumbled in, surprised that I didn’t find mom and dad passed out on the sofa.  Then I remembered, they were probably at work.

 

After throwing my mostly uneaten lunch away, I found my way upstairs before sitting down on my bed, slinging my bag onto the floor.

 

Alone, I simply stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours but was most likely minutes, my eyes tracing over each crack in the paint, looking for patterns that weren’t there.

 

Then, to my utter shock, I heard a knock on the window.  I jumped and sat up, looking to see Theo sitting with a look of sadness upon his face.  I rushed over to the window and opened it, moving aside to let him in.

 

“What are you doing?” I asked, “You  _ can’t  _ be here.  What if my parents--”

 

He cut me off, “Relax, they don’t come home from work until eight.  It’s barely two o’clock.”

 

“Right.”  I ducked my head, “How did you--”   
  


He shrugged, “I phoned the school after you ignored all of my calls.  They said you went home sick.”

 

“I wasn’t…” I tried to form the lie as convincingly as possible and yet it still tasted like poison in my mouth, “I wasn’t avoiding you.”

 

He flared his eyes at me and grabbed my wrist, making me wince, “You’re lying to me.”   
  


“N-No.” I avoided his hypnotic gaze, almost afraid that if I’d stare long enough he’d turn me to stone, “I wouldn’t do that.  I swear.  I had a test, and I had to turn off my phone.”   
  


He increased the pressure, and I cried out, knowing there would be a bruise forming from the grip.  Great, no more short sleeved shirts for the rest of the week!

 

His tone was harsh as he grumbled, “Don’t you  _ dare  _ think you could ever lie to me.  I’d hate to have to do something I regret.”

 

“I-I’m sorry.” I whimpered, “S-Stop, please.  I’m sorry.”

 

He released me from his grip and watched as I rubbed at my sore wrist, “Do you even want me anymore?” he asked, then added another question which tugged at my heart, “Do you still love me?”

 

I mean, of course I did.  I couldn’t stop, not ever.  But this wasn’t the love I had initially fell into, with stolen kisses and whispered dreams, no.  This was a nightmare of lies and pain, one that I couldn’t untangle myself from due to how addictive the good parts were.

 

“Yes.” I confessed, and I could feel myself getting weepy again, “I still love you.”

 

One hand gripped my waist and the other my cheek as he pulled me into a hard, but passionate kiss, his lips roughly clashing against mine.  I couldn’t help but melt into it and I felt him inch me back toward the bed.

 

I pulled away, breathless, “Theo, wait--”

 

“We’ve done enough waiting, don’t you think?” his eyes wandered to my lips in a glorious ‘come, hither’ fashion and I couldn’t help but blush at it, “I love you.” he said, his fingers now digging almost painfully into my side.

 

I ignored the sting and crashed my lips back against his, a fire igniting deep within me as he pushed me down against the bed.  He trailed biting kisses along my jaw until he reached my throat, making me arch up at the sensation, fingers running through his hair.

 

He kissed me again and I continued to fall into it like an addict, moaning softly as his hips rolled against mine.

 

When he pulled away, I followed desperately, only to whine when he pushed me back down.  His eyes roamed over me ravenously, like an animal seeing his prey and yet, I couldn’t object.  I was helpless to my own insane passions, drawn to his darkness like a moth to a flame despite how bad he was for me.

 

“You love me.” he stated, his grip getting tighter on my shoulder.  He continued, “Don’t you?”   
  


I suddenly found that hard to answer as I came back to reality, realising that he had me trapped under him on the bed.  I swallowed, my eyes searching his face in an attempt to read the beautifully complicated emotions crossing it.

 

“Answer me.” he hissed, and his hand moved to wrap around my throat, squeezing as a warning, restricting my ability to breathe properly.

 

My heart jumped in fear and I froze up before letting the words spill out, “Yes.  I love you.”

 

“Good.” he pecked my forehead, “I’d hate to have to do something I’d regret.  Now, where were we?” his hand moved down to palm my jeans.

 

I gasped in a shock of pleasure before regretfully pulling away, stammering, “A-Actually… C-Can we just lay here for a while?”

 

“You’re chickening out on me again.  Come on.  This is what you want.” Theo stated, his tone getting harsher, not stopping his movements.

 

I couldn’t help the movement of my hips as I sought friction, my thoughts becoming a hazy mess for a couple of seconds before I pulled away further, getting up off the bed.

 

_ “I’m serious,  _ Theo.” I raised my voice, crossing my arms, “Stop it.”

 

He scoffed, getting up, “Someone’s in a mood.”   
  


“Look, I’ve had a bad day, okay?” I vented, “I’m not in the mood.  So stop!”

 

He grabbed me roughly by the arms, his voice lowering to a warning tone, “Don’t  _ ever  _ raise your voice at me.  Okay?”   
  


I attempted to look away, but he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes and absorb the rage that filled them.

 

“Okay?” he repeated, harshly.

 

I frantically nodded and internally swore as I felt tears well in my eyes again.

 

“You’re such a crybaby.” Theo grumbled, letting me go, “It seriously makes you look like such a girl.  Grow up.”   
  


I wiped at my eyes, nodding, “I-I’m sorry.”

 

“Yeah.” he turned around, “That’s another one of your downfalls, Corey.  You say sorry too much.” he walked toward the window.

 

Confused, I asked, “Where are you going?”

 

“I’m going home.” he snapped, “I just hope that the next time I show up, you’re not being so pathetic.” he put one leg out of the window and remarked, “Who am I kidding?  Of course you will be.”

 

He clambered out, leaving me alone once again, the deafening sound of my insecurities babbling away inside my head as he did so.  I stood still, watching him hop over my fence before disappearing completely from my line of sight.

 

Everything crashed back over me again now that my momentary distraction was gone.  I was nothing.  Pathetic.  A shy, pathetic loser who couldn’t even open up about anything, let alone his sexuality.

 

And it’s not that I hated myself for being gay.  No, I had accepted that a long time ago.

 

It was just the worry of what that revolution would do to the people around me, how it would ruin my already fragile relationship with my parents.

  
What hurt the most was the fear of upsetting them, disappointing them.   I couldn’t do that.  So I had to live with Theo hurting me, and it was a necessary sacrifice, because at least then I would’ve gotten the good along with the bad.   If my parents knew, it’d all be an endless cycle of bad, and I couldn’t live with that.

 

I was barely surviving anyway.

 

Anxiously, I made my way into the bathroom to look into the mirror.  I looked exhausted; my eyes were sunken, my skin pale.  There were a trail of marks on my neck that Theo had left, both from his kisses and his attempted throttling.  The top of my arms and shoulders where he had dug in was red, pain resonating each time I moved.  Then there was my wrists.

 

To be honest, I knew there was going to be a bruise but not to this extent.  Forming over my skin was a moderately sized blue/black mark.  I rested a finger on the injury in inspection, but winced at how tender it was.  Sometimes Theo really didn’t know his own strength.

 

I wandered back into my bedroom and practically threw myself on the bed, getting under the covers where I cocooned myself, feeling safe from everything now that I was there.

 

Of course, something had to ruin my mood, and I noticed my phone light up.  Exasperated, I reached out and looked at my notifications, seeing that I had received several messages from Mason on Facebook.

 

\--

 

**_Mason Hewitt:_ **

_ Hi _

_ U okay? _

_ Im so sorry about earlier _

_ Pls reply to me???? _

_ Corey??? _

_ Im sorry _

_ Pls tell me ur ok _

 

_ \-- _

 

I sighed, knowing I didn’t deserve that kind of concern, and I opted to turn off my mobile before curling up to try and get some sleep.  I didn’t care that it was still early, all I knew was that I didn’t want to move from the save haven of my bed to go out where people could hurt me again.

 

***

 

**{MASON POV}**

 

“You know, you’re beginning to look a bit desperate.” Liam remarked as he looked over at me texting whilst he got changed into his lacrosse gear, “I’m sure he’s okay.”

 

I shook my head, “I’ve got a bad feeling.”

 

“Dude, you barely know this guy.” he stated, pulling on his jersey, “Why are you getting so wound up?”

 

I sighed and locked my phone, “I’m trying to be nice.”   
  


“Remembering someone’s birthday is ‘trying to be nice’.  This is something else.” he came over and sat beside me, “What’s wrong?  Why are you so worried about a random guy you barely know?”

 

Before I was forced to answer his question, a booming voice caught both of our attentions,  _ “DUNBAR!  HEWITT!  HURRY UP!” _

 

I looked up to see Coach Finstock standing at the door looking rather irritated at us both.  We exchanged a look and I slid my phone back into my pocket.  I didn’t participate in any of the physical education, mainly because I was always conveniently ill (well, I got my parents to sign me off).  It irked the Coach, but unfortunately for him, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

 

I walked over to go and sit on the bleachers, taking out my phone to anxiously look if Corey had messaged back again.  No luck.

 

Eventually, I gave up and opted to look at the (very attractive) lacrosse players instead, flinching when I saw Jackson walk over.

 

He walked around the class and headed over to sit beside me, a look of resignation upon his face.

 

“You know I didn’t mean it, don’t you?” he asked.

 

I arched an eyebrow, “Funny.  That didn’t sound like an apology.”

 

“What do you expect me to do, Mason?” his voice rose in volume, “I’m not an apologetic guy.  I’m an asshole who hurts people because of his anger issues.  But that’s my bullshit to deal with.  So if you’re going to be mad then get over it.  I’m done.  I tried.” he got to his feet and turned to go.

 

I called after him, feeling guilty once more, “Wait.  Jack.” I waited for him to turn back around before continuing, “I was thinking about visiting Corey.  Would you have any idea where he lives?”

 

“How would I know?” he asked, crossing his arms.

 

I muttered, “Damn it.”

 

After a couple of seconds, he seemed to get an idea and suggested, “Hang on.  Derek, Isaac’s roommate, he knows Beacon Hills like the back of his hand, always knows who lives where.”   
  


“That’s sort of creepy.” I stated, grimacing at the thought.

 

He agreed, “That’s Derek.  I’ll text Isaac.”

 

***

 

We met Isaac at my car, the scarf-wearing boy walking over with a grin, “Derek texted me.  I’ve got the address so that lover boy here can be Romeo.”

 

“It’s not like that.” I defended, “God, have neither of you two ever cared about  _ anyone _ ?”

 

Isaac’s gaze shifted briefly to look at Jackson, but as soon as the other turned, he ducked his head.

 

I rolled my eyes, “Come on.  We have to hurry.”

 

“Mason, chill.” Jackson commanded, “Isaac, you drive.”

 

Isaac nodded.

 

***

 

When we arrived at Corey’s house, I noticed that there wasn’t a car in the drive and considered the possibility that he had drove off, all because I had pressured him into a situation where he was quite clearly uncomfortable.

 

“Stay in the car.” I commanded to the other two before getting out of the car and walking up to the door.

 

For a split second, I thought about giving up, about letting this boy I barely knew go, letting him move on with his life.  Despite this, I knew that there was something definitely wrong.

 

I knocked several times and waited a couple of minutes until he opened the door.  He seemed different from earlier, he had changed his shirt (he was wearing a turtleneck that didn’t really fit him too well), his skin was pallid.  It looked as if he had been crying some more.

 

“Hey.” I said, my hands beginning to shake from anxiety just at the image of him, wrecked.

 

He looked at me in something that was almost annoyance before shutting the door in my face.  I stood awkwardly for a couple of seconds until he reopened the door, the anger faded from his gaze and replaced with something I could only compare to despair.

 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice trembling.

 

I replied, “I was worried about you.  You stormed off crying, Corey.”   
  


“Guess it’s something I keep doing, isn’t it?” he sniffled, “I’m not good, Mason.  You’d be better off staying away from me.”

 

I honestly couldn’t understand how someone could hate themselves that much, and I said, “I don’t want to stay away from you, Corey.  I want to be your friend. That’s all I want, no hidden agenda, no catch.”

 

“It’s never that way.” he rested his forehead against the edge of the door, “Somebody always wants to take something from me.”

 

I shook my head and took a step forward, “Let me in, Corey.  Talk to me.  We can discuss anything that you want.  Boundaries.”   
  


“No, you need to go.” he backed away, looking terrified, “Trust me.  I-I-If someone finds out…”

 

I reached out to touch his shoulder, surprised that he didn’t throw me off, “Look, we might not know each other well, but I’d like to get to know you.”

 

“No, you don’t want that.” he looked down, as if he was desperate not to look at me, “I’m just going to hurt you.”   
  


I pulled my hand back, his words upsetting me, “That’s for me to decide.  You’re not a monster, Corey.  You’re a kid, and although I don’t fully understand what’s going on, I want you to talk to me.  You don’t have to tell me all of it, but you need to get at least something off your chest.  Keeping all that to yourself will end up killing you.  Please.  Let me in.”   
  


He met my eyes finally and nodded, “Okay.  Fine.”

 

Then he stepped aside and I entered the house, prepared for what the rest of the night would bring.

 

***

 

**{ISAAC POV}**

 

“He’s not coming out, is he?” I asked Jackson, looking at where Mason had disappeared into the house.

 

Jackson shook his head, “He thinks he can fix Corey.  That’s not how it works.”

 

“And you would be the expert because….?” 

 

He shrugged, “He’s clearly got anxiety, perhaps depression even.” when I looked at him confused, he elaborated, “I listen in class sometimes, Lahey.  You might wanna try it instead of gazing at me like an idiot, not that I blame you to be honest.”

 

“Modest as ever, Jack.” I remarked, “Besides, what makes you think I’m gazing at  _ you?   _ I could very well be gazing at our incredibly hot biology teacher.”   
  


He stated, “Our bio teacher isn’t your type.”   
  


“How do you know what my type is?” I asked, turning around in the seat.

 

He replied, “We used to live across the road from each other, Lahey.  We spend most of our days together.  Of course I know what your type is.”

 

“Arrogant straight guys.” I snarked, “You’re totally correct!”   
  


Jackson tilted his head, “And what exactly makes you think I’m straight?  Just because I say and do things that aren’t in my control?  Or maybe it’s my macho bravado!” he puffed out his chest overdramatically, making us both burst into a fit of laughter.  When his tone sobered up again, he crossed his arms and sighed, “Kind of stereotypical, isn’t it?  A cliche.  Jock appears to be straight to appease everyone on his team, to make his parents happy and yet, he’s left miserable.”   
  


“Oh my God, Jackson Whittemore!” I smirked, “Are you coming out to me?”

 

He shrugged, “I guess.  Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”   
  


“Okay, sure.” I nodded, “It’s not my business anyway.”   
  


He leaned in closer, “Oh, I don’t know…” his hand cupped my cheek softly, “It could have  _ something  _ to do with you.”   
  


He closed the distance between us and our lips met, a brief meeting of mouths that sparked electricity in my veins.  After the kiss, he pulled away with the most wolfish grin I had ever seen.

 

“We should get out of here.” he said, his voice playfully suggestive.

 

I stammered, nodding, “Y-Yeah.” then I turned back and drove us away, not quite believing that what was going on was real.

 

***   
  


**{COREY POV}**

 

I led Mason into the living room as I played with the cuffs of my shirt.  It took all of my willpower not to make a noise from the pain every time I touched my bruises but I knew that Mason could not see what I had allowed to happen to me.

 

He sat down on the sofa next to me, sitting at a slight angle so that he could face me, “So Corey… are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review/kudos!! thanks for reading!
> 
> Question of The Chapter: Favourite Pairing (in story and in the show) (can be non-romantic)
> 
> Answer of The Chapter: Morey/Jisaac for the story, Morey for the show. Non-romantically I like Allison and Mason in the story too!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey and Mason talk, and Jackson tells Isaac something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> much updates  
> such wow

**{COREY POV}**

 

“So Corey…” Mason began, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

 

My heart skipped slightly as I struggled to form coherent words, my breathing becoming more difficult.  How could I possibly explain any of this?

 

“I…” I fiddled with my cuffs again, “Damn it.” I whispered in a shock of pain as I was suddenly reminded of my injured wrist again.

 

He looked confused, his eyes wandering to my wrist, “Are you hurt?”

 

“I’m fine.” I lied, sitting up straight and moving my arms, “A-Anyway.  What do you want to know?”

 

He shrugged, but I could tell he was still concerned, “What do you wanna tell me?”

 

“I don’t know.” I said, “I don’t know what you want so I can’t tell you what you want me to say about what I want to tell you.”

 

He looked utterly perplexed, rubbing his temples, “No.  Hang on.  What did you say?”

 

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” I huffed, “Yes, I got upset.  I’m not used to being around people.  It’s a thing.  A Corey thing, you know?”   
  


He gave me a nod in understanding, “Is there anything else?”

 

“Uh…” I shook my head, “No.”

 

He sighed and got to his feet, “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

 

“Wait!” I called after him and after he paused, I continued, “That’s not all I’ve gotta say.”

 

He turned back around and came to sit beside me again, “Go on.”

 

“I’m…” I closed my eyes for a quick second, then opened them as I confessed, “I lied to you earlier.  When I said I was straight.”

 

He nodded, “So you’re what?”

 

“I’m… I’m g--”

 

As if on cue, the door opened and my parents both came stumbling in.  I swallowed, getting to my feet to look at them.

 

“I thought you guys were working until eight?” I crossed my arms.

 

My dad drunkenly giggled,  _ “Nah…   _ Half day.”

 

“Of course it is.  And you’re both drunk.” I remarked, then turned to Mason, “I’m sorry about this.”

 

My mom walked over, “Ooh, you’ve got a friend, huh?”   
  


“Yes, mom.” I confirmed, my breathing getting more constricted as it felt like the room was getting smaller.  I turned to Mason, “D-Do you wanna, uh… go upstairs so w-we can talk?”

 

He reached out and touched my shoulder, obviously noticing my panic, “Are you okay?”

 

“Huh?  Y-Yeah.” I wet my drying lips, “I just… I can’t be here.”

 

He nodded and grabbed his bag before escorting me to my room and I finally felt as if I was able to breathe again.

 

“S-Sorry about that.” I said, sitting on my bed.

 

He came over and sat next to me, “It’s okay.  I get it.  My folks drink too.”   
  


“Not to mine’s extent.” I sighed, “Well, at least they act like they give a damn about me when they’re drunk.”

 

He tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

 

“They don’t care about me.” I explained, “I’ve never been the son my dad wanted, and my mother sometimes just acts like she full-blown  _ hates  _ me most of the time.” my lip trembled, and I fought back the urge to cry again, “I just… I don’t understand why they don’t care about me.”

 

His hand rested atop of mine and he said, “That’s their loss.  You seem like a good guy, Corey.  They don’t deserve you.”

 

I looked down at our hands, “You’re nice to me.  It’s something I’m  _ really  _ not used to.”

 

“Well, I saw something in you.” he said, “I’m not really sure what it was, but it was definitely good.” he moved his hand then asked, “So… what were you going to tell me before we were interrupted?”

 

I stammered, “I-I uh… N-Not here.”

  
“Okay, should we go somewhere?” he suggested, “I know a pizzeria, I’ll pay.”

 

I laughed, “Mason, you’re supposed to be in school!”   
  


“And?” he nudged me gently, “It’s not the first time I’ve bunked off, you remember how I was skipping class when we met?  Come on.  Let’s get you out of the house.”

 

I nodded, then asked, “Just how are we going to get there?”

 

“We can walk.” he suggested, “My designated driver seems to have fucked off, so it’s our only option.  But don’t worry.  There will be food afterward.”

 

I smiled, “Okay, I’ll come with you.  Just… let’s try not to alert my parents.”

 

“Deal.” Mason smirked, getting to his feet.

 

***

 

**{ISAAC POV}**

 

“That was fun.” Jackson’s voice mumbled as I moved off him to settle beside him in the car.

 

Our bodies were glistening with sweat, the post-sex high washing over us both as we looked at each other.

 

_ “That…”  _ I began, leaning over to peck his lips, “Was overdue.”

 

He nodded and agreement, then looked away, the happiness on his face fading to one that was troubled.

 

“What’s wrong?” I asked, resting my chin on his shoulder and cupping his cheek.

 

He sighed, “We can’t do this again.”

 

“What?” I dropped my hands, pulling away, “What are you talking about?”   
  


He looked at me, “I can’t do this.  Isaac, I’m wanting a sports scholarship.  Nobody would ever pick me if--”   
  


“If they knew you were gay.” I finished, nodding, “S-So what?  You’re just going to act like this never happened?”

 

Jackson looked at a loss for words as I grabbed my pile of clothes, but before I could leave, he grabbed my wrist gently.  I turned back and was suddenly pulled into a heartbreaking kiss.

 

When I pulled away, his eyes were filled with regret as he said, “I’m sorry.  But I can’t do this and go to my future at the same time.”   
  


I rolled my eyes, “Of course it’s about  _ your  _ future, Whittemore.  It’s always about you, the golden boy.”

 

“Isaac, don’t--”   
  


I held up my hand and broke him off, screaming, “No!” before getting out of the car and getting dressed.  Then I poked my head inside the car again, “Derek will be expecting me home.  You can walk home.”

 

He nodded and got out of the car, grabbing his clothes.  I got back into the car, feeling used as I started it.

 

A single glance was spared to my rearview mirror to see Jackson standing there, looking broken before I began to drive, trying to hold back the anger and urge to scream.

 

***

 

**{MASON POV}**

 

“I can’t believe that you like pineapple on pizza.” Corey remarked, “I thought I was the only one.”   
  


We were sat on a roundabout in an empty playpark as we shared a box of pizza and some other various foods.

 

“Liam hates it.” I said, “Grosses him out to the extreme.”   
  


Corey took a bite of the sauce-dipped pizza and snarked, “He just can’t handle it.  We’re the real badasses if it’s so awful to everyone else.”   
  


I noticed he had a glob of garlic mayo on his mouth and reached out to wipe it away, honestly surprised that he didn’t flinch at my touch, or grimace as I licked the mayo off my thumb.  Surprisingly, he actually smiled wider.  I found it gloriously refreshing to see him somewhat happy, considering the fact that I had seen him crying and upset so often, despite only knowing each other for two days.

 

“Seriously though.” he began, “How do you afford all this?” he signalled to our bags of food, “I can barely afford to buy myself a bottle of coke!”

 

I shrugged, “My mom is a lawyer, my dad the head of a big company.  Money isn’t too much of an issue for them to be honest.  Or for me.”

 

“That’s awesome.” he grinned, then picked up another slice of pizza.

 

I then remembered why we had come out in the first place and although the larger part of me didn’t want to ruin Corey’s groove -- he was really adorably cute when happy, I decided to ask him, “So, uh, Corey…”

 

“Yep?” he asked, shuffling.

 

I mentioned, “You were going to tell me something back at the house and although I  _ really _ like seeing you happy, I still think you should get it off your chest.”

 

“You’re right.” he acknowledged with a nod, putting his slice of pizza down.  He took a couple of quick seconds before he had the courage to continue as he revealed something I had, to be honest, suspected from the minute I had seen him, but was too afraid to suggest, “I’m… not into girls in the way I should be.” he looked down, ashamed, “Like… romantically.”

 

I rested my hand on his in aim to comfort him, “There’s no right or wrong way when it comes to liking somebody, Corey.”   
  


“That’s not what my parents think.” he babbled dispiritedly.

 

At that, I squeezed his hand supportively, “Then your parents are wrong.” he looked up, discombobulation shining in his dark eyes, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, embarrassed about, there’s nothing wrong with it.” I flashed a wry smile his way, “I mean, look at me.” I cocked my head pridefully, “I’m gay, and there’s nothing wrong with me.  Who honestly gives a fuck who I’m into?  If someone does, then that’s  _ their  _ problem, not mine.  And if your parents don’t like it, who cares?”

 

“I would!” he pulled away, sorrow filling his eyes again, “They may be alcoholic douchebags, but they’re my parents, and the fact that I know they won’t understand, it just… it…”

 

I nodded and completed the sentence for him, “It would break your heart.  It’s okay, I get it.  I really do, and I’m never  _ ever  _ going to pressure you into coming out.  But this?  This shame, this regret?  It’s a normal thing that every teen questioning their sexuality goes through.  I may have realised I was gay when I was, like, six or seven, but it still took me a couple of years to fully come to terms with it.”

 

“How did you?” he wondered, leaning into one of the roundabout’s railings.

 

I replied, “I kissed my first boyfriend in front of my entire class.” at his mildly terrified look, I clarified, “Something you totally are  _ not  _ expected to do, by the way.”

 

“Good.” he gave a miserable, forced smile, “Because we both know that I’m not brave enough to do that.”

 

I countered, “Well, I think that’s BS.  You’re strong.  You’re telling me now.” then, I subtly asked, “So, since we’re on the subject… is there someone?”

 

“There’s someone.” he nodded, but the expression of heartache didn’t seem to fade, “He’s like a year older than me, left school.” he heaved a shaking sigh, “And lately, it feels like he’s a different person.”

 

I watched his reaction as I queried, “How so?”   
  


“It doesn’t matter.” he shook the question off almost immediately, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” after a couple of seconds, he managed to look back up at me, “So I told you my big secret.  Does this mean we’re friends?”

 

I replied, “If you want to be.”

 

“I do.” he admitted, “I want to be your friend.”

 

At that, I chuckled and announced, “Then it’s official; we’re friends.” I picked up a slice of pizza, “And you know what they say; ‘friends who like pineapple on pizza together, stay together.”

 

“Who says that?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

 

I answered, “I don’t know!  ‘They’!”

 

“Whoever ‘they’ are.” he added.

 

Suddenly, I felt a drop of rain touch my forehead and cursed aloud, instantly closing the pizza box.

 

“Well there goes our plan to eat away from civilisation.” I remarked, “Darn.” at his look of concern, I laughed and lightly shoved him, noticing that he seemed to stiffen up and wince slightly, “You alright?”

 

He responded with a meek, “I’m fine.” before asking, “Where should we go?”

 

“My place?  I don’t live far from here.” I suggested.

 

He grinned, “Sounds fun.” then he grabbed one of the bags, “But I call dibs on holding the bag with the Cheetos!”   
  


“Oh,  _ alright!”  _ I huffed overdramatically, rolling my eyes, “Let’s go.”

 

We began to stroll through the woods side-by side, both of us holding bags, my own school one on my back.  To be honest, I had completely forgotten about school, my mind was too occupied on how much fun we were both having, chatting idly about which superheroes we liked better and other silly, insignificant and yet still somehow meaningful stuff.

 

Then, we came across somebody in the woods -- he was an arrogant looking man who had short, raven black dishevelled hair and deep sea blue eyes that were probably capable of drowning somebody if he got angry enough.

 

At first, it seemed like he was simply out for a walk, but when Corey saw him, he seemed to freeze up.

 

The guy saw Corey and grinned in a Cheshire Cat like manner, greeting him with a simple, “Hello, Corey.”   
  


“Theo.” Corey swallowed, then looked at me, “Uh, Mason, this is my friend Theo.  Friend Theo, this is friend Mason.”   
  


Theo frowned, “A ‘friend’?  Really?  He’s not your parents, so you can tell him.”

 

“Tell me what?” I asked.

 

Corey looked down for a quick second, then confessed, “He’s my boyfriend.”

 

“Oh.” I said, “Well don’t worry, man.  We’re just going back to my house to study.”   
  


He looked unimpressed, “I thought you were sick?”   
  


“I feel better!” Corey piped up, “I tried to get some sleep.”

 

Theo walked over and gently cupped Corey’s cheek and I could tell this was an unusual gesture by the surprise on Corey’s face, “You go straight home if you feel sick, okay?”   
  


“Y-Yeah.” Corey nodded, “I will.”   
  


Theo smiled, “That’s my boy.  I love you.”

 

“L-Love you too.” Corey stammered, then moved to kiss Theo, whose hands settled on his waist.

  
I wasn’t sure if it was the feeling of discomfort Theo was giving me or something else, but I was unable to watch the kiss and turned away, waiting for Theo to leave until I went back over to join Corey.

 

“Sorry about that.” he tittered anxiously, “It’s just… he walks in these woods a lot.”   
  


I attempted to reassure him, but the lie tasted like poison in my mouth, “It’s  _ fine.” _

 

“You sure?” he asked, worry glistening in those pretty dark eyes again.

 

Again, to spare his feelings, I lied, “Yeah.  We should head.  Pizza will get cold, and if there’s one thing people can universally agree on, cold pizza sucks.”

 

“Nah, I think it’s okay.” he quipped.

 

I scoffed, “Nuh uh.  You’re yanking my chain here.  Nobody likes cold pizza, it’s gross.”   
  


“Maybe I’m just a bit weird.” he shrugged.

 

I retorted, “Yep.  But from where I’m standing, not a bad thing.”

 

He laughed aloud, a wonderful sound that made me smile along with him, and we continued to walk to my house, both of us grinning like idiots and having some semblance of fun for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question of the chapter:  
> Least favourite character (in the show and in the story)?
> 
> Answer of the chapter:  
> Jackson (show), Theo (story)
> 
> Please leave kudos/review!!
> 
> Also this is basically pre-relationship morey fluff up in here ehehe cuties


	5. Chapter Five

**_{COREY POV}_ **

 

The next day at school, I met Mason at his locker and gave him a friendly smile as I greeted him.

 

“Hey.” he said, grabbing his books from the locker and then turning to me, “You okay?”

 

I paused for a couple of seconds before finally coming up with an answer, “Strangely…  _ yes.”  _

 

“See?” he beamed at me, “Told you it’d be easier if you got something off your chest.”

 

I nodded, “You were right.  Thank you.”   
  


“Hey, what are friends for?” he asked, “Come on, I think we’ve got Physics together first.”

 

I snarked,  _ “Awesome.” _

 

“You still struggling?” he wondered as we walked.

 

I confessed, “Truthfully?  I don’t think I’m going to pass this year.  If I fail any more classes, they’re going to end up holding me back.”

 

“I was going to give you some pointers for studying yesterday but we got distracted.” he said, “But tonight’s good for me, you?”

 

I tilted my head, “You’re really going to help me with all this?”

 

“Like I said, ‘what are friends for’?” he put an arm around me and led me to the class, cheery and excitable as per usual.

 

When Liam and Hayden met us in the classroom, the former seemed to be a bit irritated as he walked over to Mason, “Dude, what the hell?  You skipped out on class?”

 

“I don’t take part anyway, plus it was the end of the day.” Mason said, dropping his arm.

 

Liam hissed at him, “You were supposed to meet me afterward, you know?  Go to the library with me so that I could get a couple of books?  Study?”

 

“Oh, man…” Mason groaned apologetically, “I completely forgot.  I’m sorry.”

 

A feeling of regret bubbled up within me.  Because Mason had decided to spend time with me, one of his friends were now angry with him.  I could feel the all too familiar insecurities start up once more and suddenly had the urge to leave.

 

Hayden watched my reaction before interrupting the two boys’ conversation, “It’s okay, Mason.  He’s just being a bit of a drama queen.”

 

_ “Hey!”  _ Liam whined, “I am  _ not.” _

 

She elbowed him playfully and warned, “Stop it.”

 

Liam rolled his eyes, “You can make it up to me.” he said, “Saturday night, Lydia’s party.  Be there.  Get drunk.”

 

“I’m not getting drunk, Liam.” Mason grumbled, “Not after the last time.”   
  


I arched an eyebrow, “What happened the last time?”

 

“He got so drunk that he accidentally broke something at his house and his parents got really pissy about it.” Hayden said.

 

Mason elaborated, “It was a 3000 year old vase, cost so much money that I was not allowed to go out for three months and I’m not allowed at parties much.”

 

“Yikes.” I huffed a laugh.

 

He nodded, “Yikes is the word.”

 

Before we could say any more, our substitute teacher, Miss Martin, walked in and we all headed to our seats.

 

***

 

At lunch, we all met up in the cafeteria, and I saw Allison give me an encouraging smile as I sat down with them all.

 

Mason looked across the room and saw that Isaac was sitting on his own, playing with his food with a pitiful, melancholy expression upon his face.

 

“What’s up with him?” he asked, cocking his head in his direction.

 

Jackson awkwardly shrugged, “How a-am I supposed to know?  I don’t know!”

 

“I wasn’t asking you.” Mason hissed, “Plus, you still haven’t apologised.”

 

I mumbled, “It’s okay.  He doesn’t need to.”

 

“Exactly.” Jackson smirked, “See, he’s let it go.  Can’t you?”

 

Mason rolled his eyes, “You’re such an ass.”

 

_ “So!” _ Stiles piped up to cut the tension, “Lydia!  You have a party on Saturday.”

 

She pressed her lips together in an irritated expression and turned her head, “I do.”

 

“So…” he began to stiffly bumble from side to side, “Tell us about the party.”

 

She arched an eyebrow, “It’s a party.  It doesn’t take a genius to work out what it features.”

 

“Speaking of the party,” Liam grinned mischievously, “Mason agreed to come.”

 

Mason scoffed,  _ “I did not.”  _ at Liam’s look of vexation, he rolled his eyes, “But I guess I will.  Not drinking though.” he turned to me, “Corey?  Why don’t you come along?”

 

“Um…” I laughed nervously, “A-Are you sure?”

 

Stiles nodded,  _ “Yeah!   _ It’ll be fun.  Give us all a chance to know you better.”

 

“I think it’d be pretty cool.” Scott agreed.

 

Mason remarked, “You know, I’m pretty sure the only reason you two losers claim to be ‘not dating’ is because you’re already married.”

 

“One, actually it’s because we like to keep our private life private.” Stiles began, “And two, Scott is  _ totally  _ the wife.”   
  


Scott looked horrified, then shoved Stiles, “Nuh-uh!   _ You  _ are the wife, Mr. Takes-Two-Hours-To-Shower!”

 

“So?” Lydia asked, leaning over the table slightly and looking at me, “Will you go to the party?  It’ll be fun, I swear.”

 

I replied, “I’ll think about it.”

 

“Is Isaac going?” Jackson then queried.

 

Lydia retorted, “I don’t know, do I look friggin’ psychic?”

 

“What the hell is _your_ problem?” Jackson shouted.

 

Lydia snapped back, “Maybe my problem is that Isaac phoned Allison at three o’clock in the morning, apparently in tears.”   
  


“What did he say?” Jackson stiffened, turning his gaze to Allison.

 

She answered, “Not much, he was too hysterical.”

 

_ “What did he say?”  _ he repeated, getting to his feet as his voice boomed louder.

 

I could feel my anxiety play up once more but before it got the better of me, Mason rested his hand on my upper arm, rubbing soothing circles there with his thumb.  His gaze was focused on me, and when I looked at him, he mouthed  _ ‘are you okay?’,  _ to which I nodded in reply.

 

People began to stare at our table as Jackson’s body language grew more aggressive, and I saw Malia get to her feet and walk over, resting her hands on Jackson’s shoulders.

 

“She said he said nothing.” Malia answered, “Now calm down.”

 

He scoffed before picking up his bag and lunch and storming out, “Screw you.”

 

“Well someone’s in a mood.” Mason muttered, “Do you think it was something Jackson said that upset Isaac?”

 

Kira shrugged, “I could talk to him, if you want.”

 

“Don’t bother, babe.” Malia sighed, walking back over to her seat, “It’s not our drama.  It’s theirs.”

 

Allison argued, “If he’s shouting at us and Isaac’s phoning me, I disagree.  I think it is our drama.”

 

“Say what you will, I’m not getting involved.” Malia said, “Trust me when I say that’s a horror show waiting to happen.”

 

Allison said, “It doesn’t have to be, not if we can stop it.”   
  


“‘We’ meaning us, right?” Lydia asked.

 

Allison gave an innocent grin,  _ “Sorry.” _

 

“It’s okay.  I knew what I was signing up for when I started dating you.” she got up and offered her hand, “Come on.”

 

“Where are we going?” Allison asked.

 

Lydia replied, “Going to find Isaac, who’s also magically cleared off, just like Jackson.”

 

Allison smiled and took Lydia’s hand, allowing her to pull her up before the two sauntered off.

 

“Well that escalated quickly.” Mason remarked.

 

Liam smirked, “Bet you $30 that Jackson and Isaac have a thing and that’s why they’re acting weird.”   
  


“Dude, I don’t need to bet  _ any  _ money.” Mason snarked, “I had those two figured out in seconds.  The long, lingering looks, all that crap.”

 

Malia snapped, “Can you two stop?  I think this is serious.”   
  


“It always is.” Mason huffed, then turned to me, “You still okay to study tonight?”   
  


I nodded, “Yeah.”

 

“Okay, but the second you don’t feel up to it, tell me, okay?” he said, his expression one of concern.

 

I nodded once more, “I’ll tell you.”   
  


He smiled, “Good.” then headed back to eating his lunch.

 

***

 

**_{ISAAC POV}_ **

 

I sat in the locker room with my knees drawn up to my chest as my mind attempted to drag me down.  I wasn’t going to let it win; I was too strong to get upset over some guy.

 

_ Especially  _ Jackson Whittemore.

 

He was as heartless as they came, and I knew that, I had known what I was getting into the second I had met the guy, so why did it feel like my chest had caved in on itself?

 

Allison and Lydia walked in, both giving each other looks of uneasiness before they came to sit beside me.

 

“I’m not going to take a runner.” I promised, “That’s why you look so nervous, isn’t it?  Because you think I’ll run?”

 

Allison sighed and rested her hand on my knee, “I’m so sorry, Isaac.”   
  


“It’s okay.” I mumbled, “Guess it’s my fault, isn’t it?  What did I expect?  It’s Jackson Whittemore we’re talking about, one of the greatest fuckboys in Beacon Hills.”

 

Lydia frowned, “You don’t mean that.  You’re saying it because you’re angry.”

 

“Damn straight, I’m angry!” I yelled, “I’m angry that I got myself into another position where I’m getting hurt again.  A-After my dad…” I swallowed back the rest of my sentence, it too painful to come out.

 

Allison commented, “None of this is your fault, Isaac.  We’re here for you, okay?  We always will be.”   
  


“Not always.” I exhaled shakily, “Always never lasts.”

 

***

 

**_{MASON POV}_ **

 

Later that night, Corey and I attempted to fit some time into study in my room.  Despite our best efforts, though, we had ended up being distracted by conversation and were now both lying on the bed, chatting to each other.

 

“Have you read Nightwing’s New 52 run?” I asked, staring at him as he watched the ceiling.

 

He nodded, “Yep.  The whole ‘secret agent’ thing was weird though.”

 

“Yep.” I laughed, “But his long hair back in the 90s was weirder.”

 

He smiled, then waited for a couple of seconds before asking, “Do you ever wish that those sort of things, like superheroes and stuff, actually happened in real life?  It’s a weird question, I know.”   
  


“No, I get it.” I began, “And yeah, sometimes.  But the thing is, with superheroes, their lives seem to suck.  I mean, look at how many die or lose people they love.  In real life, they wouldn’t magically come back.  That’s not how stuff works here.  It’d be cool if it did though, and if we could be saved from the bad people in our lives by some dude in a cape and suit.”

 

He seemed to be a bit distracted as he mumbled, “Yep.  Sometimes, I just wish…”   
  


“What?” I asked, “That some hero could come save you?”   
  


He shook his head and corrected, “I wish I was something else.  Someone else.  Someone people actually like, who isn’t invisible half of the time.”   
  


“Well,  _ I  _ like you.” I nudged him, smiling, “Come on, don’t beat yourself up.  You’re a great guy.”   
  


He rolled his eyes, “You barely know me.”   
  


“I know.” I said, “But in these past three days, I’ve started to get to know you, and it’s great.”

 

The frown that was occupying his expression changed into a grin as he huffed a laugh, “Anyone ever tell you that you’re great with words?”

 

“Not my English teacher, that’s for sure.” I remarked, “Speaking of which, we should be studying.”

 

He responded, “I guess you’re just easy to talk to, so easy that I get distracted.”   
  


“You’re easy to talk to too.” I said, “You’re also quite comic smart, which is awesome!”

 

He giggled at that, which made me smile too.  Then before we could continue with our study (or get more distracted by conversation), his phone buzzed.

 

Corey sighed in annoyance, sliding his phone out of his pocket to turn it off, muttering, “Go away, Theo.”

 

“Trouble in paradise?” I asked, hating the playful lilt of my voice and knowing it was wrong to feel even the slightest bit of happiness at the situation.

 

He gave me a pained look as he replied, “You have no idea.”   
  


“Tell me about it.” I offered.

 

He shook his head, “Can we just… um…. Can we change the subject?”

 

“Sure.” I said, “What do you wanna talk about?”

 

He shrugged, “I don’t know.  I suck at conversation.”

 

My heart sunk at his self-deprecating words once more and I opted to do something about it, “You don’t have to be so negative about yourself.”

 

“You don’t know me.” Corey sighed, “You don’t know what kind of person I am.”

 

I retorted, “You keep saying that, and I keep saying that’s why I plan to get to know you.  So I can judge for myself.”

 

“Why are you like this to me?” he asked, refusing to look me in the eye.

 

I arched an eyebrow, “Like what?  Nice?”

 

“I’m not used to it.” he shuffled, “Usually, people just hurt me.  And I guess it’s what I’m used to.”   
  


At his words, I reached out and touched his arm before promising, “I’m never going to hurt you.  I swear.” I waited a couple of seconds for him to look up, “Now, should we get back to studying?”

 

“Okay.” he smiled and nodded.

 

***

 

We sat studying for a couple of hours until eventually, we both ended up falling asleep.  It was peaceful until I heard Corey shuffle around, getting up.  The sounds roused me from my sleep and I turned my desk lamp on.

 

“What time is it?” I asked drowsily.

 

He whispered, “Two in the morning.”   
  


“Oh.” I yawned, “Where are you going?”   
  


He replied, “Well, I fell asleep.  I should probably head home.”

 

“Nah, it’s late.” I said, then got up, subtly walking to my closet and pulling out some extra blankets, “Sleep here.  I’ll take the floor.”

 

He looked confused, “A-Are you sure?”   
  


“If you got hurt on the way home, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” I explained.

 

He smiled, “Thank you.  But I don’t mind taking the floor.”   
  


“This isn’t going to end, is it?  We’re both going to be talking about who’s taking the floor or bed for hours.” I rolled my eyes, “I’ll have the bed, but if you have back pain, don’t whine to me about it.  I’ll take you over to your house tomorrow so you can get changed and grab any stuff you need, okay?”

 

He nodded, then shuffled onto the floor, grabbing the blankets, “Thanks again.”

 

“Don’t mention it.” I grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was kind of filler-y, I've been busy with work and personal issues.
> 
> reviews are always welcome!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corey faces Theo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry this update took so long I've just been so busy, plus I lost inspiration! But I found it again and here it is!!! hope you enjoy!

**_{COREY POV}_ **

 

The following day at school passed by quickly; too quickly for my liking.  Most of the day I had spent staring haplessly at the clock, counting down the hours until I would inevitably have to face my demons.

 

When the time came, I waved a sad goodbye towards Mason before heading home, sighing in relief when I saw that my parents weren’t home.  I checked my texts, and noticed I had fourteen missed calls and over thirty texts from Theo, each message getting gradually more aggressive until I came across his most recent text.

 

_ If I find out you’re ignoring me, I swear I’ll kill you. _

 

I swallowed back the terror that threatened to send me running and instead decided to face my fear, shakily texting him.

 

_ I’m home.  We need to talk. _

 

Approximately five minutes later, Theo appeared at my window and I let him in, my hands trembling from the overwhelming dread that fell over me.

 

“So.” he straightened his stance and loomed close to me, “Where were you?”   
  


I replied, unable to meet his gaze, “M-My phone died, an-and then… then I w-was studying at Mason’s.”

 

“‘Mason’?” he looked confused.

 

I explained, “You met him, he was with me.   W-We were studying b-because I had a test and I fell asleep at his.”   
  


“You…  _ fell asleep  _ at his?” his voice grew more threatening with each word and I flinched.

 

I mumbled, “N-Nothing happened.  We’re just friends.”   
  


“Are you lying to me?” he grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him, “Because, if you are--”

 

I shook my head, “I’m not.  We’re friends.” at his unconvinced look, I cupped his cheek, “Look, Theo… I wouldn’t hurt you like that.  I love you.”   
  


“I don’t think you should see this Mason boy again.” he said, seemingly unswayed by my words, a revelation that ached.

 

I arched an eyebrow, pulling away, “Theo, I just said--”   
  


“I don’t care what you said.” he crossed his arms, “Let me guess, this guy is playing all supportive and kind to you?  Well, he’s going to turn on you eventually.  He and all his little friends just see you as a charity case or as something they can laugh at.”

 

I backed away, “I trust him.”   
  


“You know  _ I’m  _ the only one you can trust, Corey.” he stepped into my space, “I’m the only one who doesn’t see you as pathetic.  You need me.  You  _ love  _ me.  This kid, he’s going to hurt and betray you, and as soon as he sees who you really are, he’ll leave you.”

 

I snapped at him, “Well, maybe he already knows!”

 

“Excuse me?” he grabbed my forearm painfully, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

I ducked my eyes from the intensity of his rage and explained, “I told him that I’m…” I sighed, “That I’m gay.  He is too.  Most of his friends are.”

 

“Oh, and you think that you’ve found yourself a little clique?” he scoffed, “Have you any idea how pathetic that is?”   
  


I flinched once more, “They’re… They’re nice to me too.”   
  


“Well this is one great big cinematic happy story, isn’t it?” he grinned cruelly, “What’s next, you and this-- this Mason guy go riding off into the sunset.”

 

I hissed, “I told you, it isn’t like that.  If you’re going to be a dick to me, then just leave.”

 

My words seemed to infuriate him and he pushed me against the wall, hand tightening around my throat.  I gasped for air, my heartbeat racing in fright.

 

“Don’t.   _ Ever.   _ Speak.  To.  Me.  Like.  That.” he growled.

 

I instantly attempted to nod, choking out in a frenzied litany, “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!” until he released me, pushing me onto the ground.

 

I skittered away from him, my eyes filling with tears once more as I looked up at him.  He seemed scarier from this angle, taller.

 

He then crouched before me, reaching out to brush a tuft of my hair off my forehead but pulling away as soon as I recoiled.

 

“Why do you do this to me?” I whimpered, “You’re supposed to love me!  Not hurt me.”

 

He frowned, looking taken aback, “But I  _ do  _ love you, Corey.  I’m trying to protect you.  This guy’s going to hurt you.  Trust me, I know.”   
  


“I trust him.” I stated.

 

His anger flared back up and he yelled, “I’m trying to help you!  God, this is why people don’t like you.  You’re so… you’re stupid!  You can’t take advice, you don’t listen.”

 

“He makes me feel good about myself.  He tells me I’m a good person.” I said.

 

Theo scoffed, “Oh, please.  He’s joking.  Nobody likes you, Corey.  They just see a pathetic waste, someone who can barely get any words out.”   
  


“Wh-What do you see?” I asked.

 

He cupped my face and got down onto his knees, “I see you.  I always have.  I always will.”

 

I knew it all seemed manipulative but I couldn’t help but believe him, drawn into his trap uncontrollably.  I nodded and let him pull me into a crushing hug, sniffling into his shoulder.

 

***   
  


Minutes later, I had calmed down and we were lying together on my bed, one of his hands running through my hair.

 

“You scare me sometimes.” I admitted, “When… When you’re angry, sometimes you’re terrifying.”

 

He nodded, “I know.  But every time I get angry, I’m doing it for your benefit.”

 

“I know.” I sighed, “I deserve it.  I’m a fuck up.”

 

He kissed my forehead, “Yes, but you’re getting better.  You just need to listen to me more.”   
  


“I’m sorry that I didn’t text or call.” I mumbled, feeling a swell of guilt rise within me, “And you were right; I did lie.”

 

He seemed to be taken by surprise by my words,  _ “What?” _

 

“My phone didn’t die.” I confessed, “I just… I got distracted.”

 

He pulled away from me, the warm blanket of comfort I had been feeling being torn away also, “You got… distracted?!” he got to his feet, “So, what?  Am I not enough for you anymore?”

 

I shook my head, sitting up, “I-It’s not like that.  I swear.  J-Just calm down.”   
  


“What distracted you?” he spat at me, “Mason?”

 

I ducked my head, “We were just talking, I swear.”

 

“Do you like him?” he asked.

 

That question caught me off guard, “I-I… Of course not!  He’s a friend, okay?” I got to my feet, “I love you.   _ You,  _ okay?  Just you.”

 

“I don’t believe you!” he yelled.

 

I gasped, “Theo, please…”

 

“You  _ lied  _ to me, Corey.” he snarled, “I can take all of your other bullshit, but this?  God, I’m such an idiot!  Of course you’d fall for the first boy who shows you a bit of attention, that’s probably why you were with me!”   
  


I begged, “Theo, I’m sorry I lied.  J-Just stay calm.  Please, don’t do someth--”

 

I broke off as he threw a punch, his fist hitting me straight in the mouth.  The strength of it sent me stumbling, and I put my hand to the painful area to discover that he had burst my lip.

 

“Theo…” despite my best efforts to act strong, my eyes filled with tears once more, and I straight-up jumped in fear as Theo shoved some papers off my desk, it all clashing to the ground in a loud bang, “Stop, please!” I yelped.

 

He then punched me again, sending me to the floor this time and I knew from the force of it that I was going to have a black eye.  I sobbed nigh-on hysterically on the floor, backing away from him and pulling my knees up to my chest.

 

“You don’t  _ ever  _ lie to me, okay?” he shouted.

 

I nodded frantically, mumbling apologies and watching him walk toward the window, “W-Where are you going?”   
  


“I’m leaving.  When I come back to see you again, you’d better hope to God that I’ve forgiven you.” he opened the window, “Lie to me again and I’ll tell your parents.  They’re the two who most certainly  _ wouldn’t  _ understand.”

 

I pleaded, “Don’t go.  I’m sorry.  I love you.”

 

“Whatever.” he clambered out of the window and disappeared from my view, leaving me alone and in pain once more.

 

I curled up against the end of my bed, sobbing into my knees.  I hated that I loved him.  It was chaotic and toxic, and somehow I always ended up hurt.  And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away, despite it being the best thing for me.

 

I got to my feet a couple of minutes later and grabbed my phone, texting Mason;

 

_ I need to talk to you. _

 

Trembling and still sobbing, I began to make my way to his house.

 

***

 

**_{MASON POV}_ **

 

Liam and I sat in the living room, playing Call Of Duty with increasing aggression growing as we mashed the controls.  I always enjoyed these moments, and I regretted the feeling of distance that had spawned between us both ever since Corey had came into my life.

 

Despite this, we were attempting to push through the awkwardness and have a bit of bro time, since Hayden was at work and Corey had headed home.  My parents and siblings were all out of the house too, so it was just the two of us.

 

My phone buzzed beside me and I paused the game to check what it was.  When I read the text that I had received, worry filled me, Liam instantly noticing.

 

“Is that Corey?” he asked, putting down the controller, “You two seem to have grown close really quick.”   
  


His words sparked irritation in me and I turned to him, “It’s not like that.  I’m trying to help him.”

 

“Why does he need your help?” Liam asked, and when I didn’t answer he rolled his eyes, “Seriously?  You don’t tell me anything these days.”

 

I huffed, “Dude.  It’s not my secret to tell, okay?”

 

“Do you think he’s hot?” he continued to push.

 

I exasperatedly threw my hands up, “For fuck’s sake!  I’m  _ not  _ dating him.  I mean,  _ yes,  _ he’s physically… he’s kind of pretty, but that doesn’t mean…”

 

“Okay, whatever.” Liam grumbled, “You’re so snappy.  What’s up with him?”

 

I replied, “I don’t know.  He just said he needed to talk.  I’m not sure what it means though.”   
  


“Text him back.” he suggested.

 

I shook my head, “Tonight was meant to be spent with you, my best friend.”   
  


“You’re not a chew toy and I ain’t no dog.” he said, “You don’t have to choose.  I’m not a dick like that, and if this guy is worth anything, he isn’t either.”   
  


I asked, “You sure?”

 

“Yeah, whatever.” he got to his feet, “We’re running out of potato chips anyway.  I’m on refill duty.”

 

He headed into the kitchen, and I looked at the words displayed on my screen and attempted to word my reply.  As I was doing so, there was a sudden knock at the door.

 

I looked at my mobile’s clock, then asked Liam, raising my voice, “When did you phone in the pizzas?”

 

“Ten minutes ago.” he replied, “That  _ can’t  _ be it already.”

 

I sighed, putting my phone to sleep as I got off the floor, “I’ll get it.” as I approached the door, the person behind it knocked again, this time with more intensity and I grumbled, “Jesus, calm down.  I’m coming.”

 

When I opened the door, I froze.  Standing in the rain was a bleeding, sobbing Corey.  He seemed hysterical and he was shivering, not even wearing a jacket.

 

“Oh my God.” I mumbled.

  
Liam came over, “What is i-- Holy shit.” he broke off, “What happened to  _ you?” _

  
“H-Help me.” Corey stammered before stumbling to the side, near enough falling to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as usual, comments/kudos are appreciated!!!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I have been unable to update. Updates will be less frequent due to personal issues, but I will try to get one out as often as possible!!

**_{MASON POV}_ **

 

Liam and I helped Corey stumble to the sofa, and I knelt in front of him to ask, “What happened?  Who hurt you?”   
  


“I-I--” he couldn’t answer, simply dipping his head and sobbing hysterically.

 

Liam rushed into the kitchen, then returned with a glass of water, sitting next to Corey and bringing it to his lips, “Here.  Drink.  It can calm you down.”

 

Corey nodded, sniffling, then took a small drink before pulling away, “Th-Thank you.”   
  


“No problem.” Liam set the drink to the side, “Now, do you wanna tell us who did this to you?”

 

Corey shook his head, “I-I can’t… he’ll kill me.”

 

“‘He’?” I arched an eyebrow, and when Corey’s panic seemed to return, I took his cold hands in between mine, “Did Theo do this to you?”   
  


Corey’s gasping shudder for air was all the reply I needed, and I saw Liam look confused, “Who’s Theo?”

 

“H-He’s my…” Corey began, then shook his head, “I-I can’t…”

 

Liam rested a hand on Corey’s back supportively, “Hey.  It’s okay.  You can trust me, man.”

 

“He’s my boyfriend.” Corey explained, then looked down with something akin to shame on his face, “I’m… I’m-- you know…”

 

Liam reacted with a small, “Gay?  Oh.” then said, “I’m calling the Sheriff.”

 

He rose to his feet, but Corey grabbed his arm in an attempt to stop him, “You can’t!”

 

“He hurt you!” I insisted, “You need to go to the cops!”   
  


He shook his head frantically, “I-I can’t… it’s my fault… it’s all my fault!” he dissolved back into hysterical sobs once more and I moved to sit next to him, too afraid to touch him in case it worsened his state.

 

“You need to calm down.” Liam advised, “Take deep breaths.”

 

Corey continued to shake his head, “I-I can’t!  I can’t  _ breathe!” _

 

“Hey…” I began, holding up my hands, “It’s okay, match my breathing.  Inhale… exhale.”

 

It took a couple of minutes, but he finally began to listen to me, calming slightly as the state of his breathing improved.

 

“That’s good.” I encouraged him, then took his cold hands in mine, “You’re freezing.”

 

Corey nodded, “I kinda forgot to put on a jacket.”

 

“Liam, go get some blankets, please.” I requested.

 

Liam got up, “I’ll be right back.” he then ran upstairs.

 

“I’m sorry I ruined you guys’ night.” Corey mumbled disheartenedly, “I just… I didn’t know where to go.”   
  


I tried to warm up his hands between my own, “That’s okay.  You know you can  _ always  _ come to me.  So what exactly happened?”   
  


“You can’t tell the Sheriff.” he pleaded, “He doesn’t mean t-to hurt me, you see.  He loves me.  He does.  But I screw up sometimes.”   
  


I said, “That doesn’t give him the right to lay a hand on you.  Nothing does.”   
  


“He loves me.” Corey shook his head, completely in denial, “It’s just… I’m damaged.”

 

I squeezed his hands, “Don’t say that.  Don’t let him bring you down.”

 

“I deserve it.” he whispered, “I’m a  _ bad  _ person, Mason.  If you saw the real me, you’d hate me, or you’d ignore me.  Just like everyone else.”

 

I shook my head, “You don’t know that!”

 

He flinched at my tone, and I instantly apologised, which seemed to surprise him, as if nobody had ever shown him as much compassion in his life.

 

Liam returned with the blankets and helped me drape them over Corey, each pained inhale of breath making me panic.

 

“How bad are you hurt?” Liam asked.

 

Corey replied, “My face hurts a bit.  I also fell when he… you know, so my side hurts a bit.”

 

“Well, I don’t think I can help with your side, but I can get some ice for your face.” Liam suggested, and when I looked at him confusedly, he shrugged,  _ “What?   _ It’s not like I’ve never been beaten up before.  I know my wounds.”   
  


He ran off into the kitchen to get some ice for Corey’s face and I returned to talking to him, trying to keep him calm.

 

“You deserve better.” I said, my voice wavering slightly.

 

He disagreed, a tear rolling down his cheek, “No I don’t.  You do.”

 

“Hey.  I decide what is best for my life because I have the strength to.” I retorted, “You’re vulnerable, anxious, quiet.  That’s why Theo is targeting you.”   
  


Corey sniffled, “Look, c-can we just not talk about it please?  I just… I don’t want to hear his name right now.”   
  


“Okay, but we’re not done with this.” I sighed, “So, you like pizza, right?”   
  


He replied, “I ate it with you the other night, remember?”

 

“Good, cause Liam and I ordered, like, six of them, all different toppings.” I said, “And one of them is pineapple and as we’ve previously discussed, Liam thinks that’s an abomination.”

 

Liam called from the kitchen, “It is!”

 

“Yeah, whatever, Mr. I-Dip-My-Fries-In-Milkshake!” I clapped back.

 

Corey added, “I used to do that all the time when I was little.”

 

“Gross.” I made a face, “And anyway, I thought you were my wingman, Corey!  No?  Go join the fries and milkshake crew then, traitor!”

 

Finally, I managed to make Corey laugh, a short, quiet noise before he said, “For the record, I think Hawaiian pizza is much better.”

 

“Traitor!” Liam called through once more, “Ugh, pineapple does  _ not  _ belong anywhere near anything with a crust on it.” he came back through with an ice pack and handed it to Corey, “Put that on your eye.  It’ll reduce the swelling.”   
  


Corey hissed as he pressed the ice to his eye, “Shit, that hurts.”   
  


“I never thought you really swore.” Liam said, surprised.

 

Corey shrugged, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” he then looked stricken, “What will I tell my parents?  I mean, if they notice?  And the people at school.  The marks are usually easier to hide.”   
  


The term ‘easier to hide’ made my stomach turn in disgust as I thought about how long this abuse had been going on for, and I attempted to help, “Maybe say you walked into a door?”

 

“That never works, trust me.” Corey replied.

 

I kept thinking about how many times Corey had been forced to lie to people he knew, if he had lied to me.  Every time he had said he was okay, he had actually been suffering in silent agony, and that broke my heart.  I dropped a hand to my side in attempt to hide the clenching of my fist as I imagined bashing Theo’s skull in.

 

I wasn’t a violent person, not even remotely, but the things that Theo had done to Corey, making him codependent and then continually hurting him, it just awakened a rage within me.  Corey was so innocent, so naive, so willing to believe he was the one who was bad, and that was terrible.

 

Ever since I had met him, Corey had been nothing but nice (except for the times he had been very closed off, a manipulation tactic by Theo, I assumed) and just the thought of him being ruthlessly battered by someone made me  _ furious. _

 

I dug my nails into my palms so hard that I nearly drew blood, only releasing it when I felt Liam’s hand touch my shoulder.

 

“You okay, bro?” he asked.

 

I shook my head, “This isn’t right.”   
  


“I said I didn’t wan--”

 

I interrupted, practically screaming at him, “You can’t just expect me to ignore this, Corey!  You need to report him!”   
  


“I can’t!” Corey whimpered.

 

I snapped back, “Why not?”   
  


“Because then my parents will find out that I’m…” he looked down, ashamed, “And I just… I can’t have them hating me too.”

 

Immediately, I felt guilty for raising my voice, “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have shouted.”

 

“It’s okay, I’m used to it.” he mumbled, resigned.

 

I insisted, “No, it’s not okay.  You shouldn’t  _ have  _ to be used to it.”   
  


Then, without warning, the doorbell rang.  Liam instantly hopped up, grabbing the money from the table before going to the door.

 

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, “Are you sure there isn’t someone I can call or…?”

 

He shook his head, “Nobody would care.  It’s fine.”

 

“No it isn’t.” I replied, “But I’m done ranting about it tonight.  You probably don’t want to hear it.” I reached up to run my fingers along the already forming bruise surrounding his eye, “Geez, that doesn’t look good.”   
  


He snarked, “Doesn’t exactly feel pretty, either.”   
  


“Oh my God.” I gasped, “Corey Bryant, did you just crack… a joke?”   
  


Corey gave a full laugh, “Yeah, it is possible.”

 

“There it is.” I remarked, “That smile.  Good to see it.”   
  


At my compliment, he blushed and ducked his head, “Uh, th-thanks.”   
  


Liam returned carrying several boxes of pizza and two huge bottles of coke and remarked, “Hope you boys are hungry.”

 

“Starving.” I remarked.

 

***

 

Hours passed, and when Liam eventually fell asleep on the floor, I turned to Corey and whispered, “He’s awful at this ‘stay up all night’ thing.  Always falls flat asleep almost as soon as the lights go out.”   
  


“Hm.” Corey nodded in acknowledgement, but I could tell he had barely registered me.

 

I clambered up onto the sofa beside him, “You okay?” I then winced, “Dumb question, sorry.”

 

“There’s something very wrong with me.” Corey mumbled, “I should report him, I should  _ hate  _ him.  But I don’t.”   
  


I rested a hand on his back, “It’s not your fault.”   
  


“Yeah, it is.” he sighed sullenly, “I should know better but I don’t.  I fall in love with him every time I see him and yet all he does is hurt me.”

 

“Corey…” I reached out and took his hands, “There’s nothing wrong with you.  It’s Theo.  He’s a sociopath.”   
  


He shook his head, “Don’t bash him?  Please?”

 

“Okay, I’ll stop going on about it but this?” I lifted a hand to lightly touch the bruise around his eye, “This has got to stop.”

 

Corey nodded, “I know.”

 

He rested his head against my shoulder with a sigh, and I moved to rub his back, feeling him start to silently sob against me.

 

After a couple of minutes, he said, “Guess I won’t be going to the party after all.”

 

“You’re not really worried about that, are you?” I asked.

 

He looked up, “I thought you wanted me to go?”

 

“I wanted you to have fun.” I stated, “I wanted to see you be happy.  I’d never make you do anything you didn’t want.”

 

He said, “Well, I  _ wanted  _ to go with you.  I’ve never really been to a party before, and now that I’ve actually got a friend…”   
  


“Hey, you can still go.” I said, “We can still go.”   
  


Corey smiled, “You’re really nice to me.”

 

“I’m  _ serious.”  _ I smirked, “Maybe, I can even get you to dance.”   
  


He began to laugh, attempting to stifle himself so he didn’t wake the slumbering Liam, but failing miserably, “No way.”   
  


“Aw, come on.” I grinned, “It’ll be  _ fun!” _

 

He rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

 

“Awesome.” I remarked.

 

Then, all of a sudden, my mom and dad came in, both attempting to be quiet as they snuck in but freezing when they saw me.  Corey stiffened and I could feel him wanting to run again.

 

“You having some friends over again?” Mom asked.

 

I nodded, “Yeah, if that’s okay.”

 

“Yeah, just make sure it’s okay with their parents, okay?” my dad grinned.

 

Mom then looked at Corey, “Hello, there.  We still haven’t officially met.  I’m Clarice.  This is Luke.”

 

“Corey.” the boy next to me introduced himself, “Thank you for letting me stay here again.”   
  


She smiled, “No problem.  I love all of Mason’s friends.  Except that Jackson boy.  He’s trouble!”   
  


“Mom.” I gave a short laugh and blushed, embarrassed by her coddling, “Go to bed.”   
  


Dad said, “She’s had a couple of flutes of wine.  She’ll be okay.  Kaycee’s staying with her boyfriend tonight and Alex is crashing at his friend’s.”   
  


“Got it.” I nodded.

 

He smiled, then helped a giggling mom upstairs.  When they were gone, Corey and I turned to each other and lasted approximately ten seconds before bursting out into a fit of muffled laughter.

 

When he managed to stop laughing, Corey looked at me, intrigued, “You never told me you had siblings.”   
  


“I didn’t?” I arched an eyebrow, “Well, yeah.  Alex, older, Kaycee, a year younger.  It’s a bit of a madhouse.”

 

The other tilted his head, “What makes you say that?”

 

“Well, as you know, mom and dad are rich so they’re always out on business or these exclusive dinners, which are really just an excuse for mom to get wasted.” I explained, “Kaycee’s always having some kind of relationship drama, ugh, straight people, and Alex is in a band.”

 

Corey asked, “So… being rich…”

 

“Let me guess, what’s it like?” I asked, “Not as idealistic as you’d think.  I actually don’t like that people like to pretend to be my friend because of my money.  Also, the fact that my mom’s a lawyer who’s put away some of the parents or siblings of people in my year isn’t great either.  I’ve gotten trouble for it before, but I’m me, I can defend myself.” he sighed, “I hate that people look at me and just see my money, or my parents.  I’m my own person, I make my own choices.”   
  


He attempted to cheer me up by nudging me, “Hey,  _ I  _ don’t care about your money.  I like you for you.”

 

His words somehow made me smile, and I said, “Thank you.  Seriously.”   
  


“Well, I guess… I assumed… never mind.”

 

I shook my head, “No.  Go ahead.”   
  


“I guess I assumed that because you’re helping me, I assumed that you’re kind of… faultless.  Without issues.” he explained.

 

I shook my head, “Nope.  I got issues, just like you.  You’re not alone.”   
  


He shuffled to lie on his side, hissing in pain as he did so, “I think I’m going to go to sleep.  I'm exhausted.”

 

“Me too.” I slid onto the floor, grabbing one of the blankets, “G’night, Corey.”   
  


He yawned, then mumbled back sleepily, “Good night, Mason.”

 

Within a few minutes, he was asleep, right as I began to notice that I wasn’t even tired anymore.  My brain had went into overdrive with worry, and I couldn’t help the guilt swelling in my chest as I imagined everything Theo could do to Corey if I didn’t tell.  Unfortunately, I knew telling would also probably end badly, so it was an impossible situation.  

 

It ached that I was unable to help him, this kid who had done nothing wrong, who was only seeking to be loved but had found himself in a deep cycle of abuse.   I knew I had to do something to help him, but I didn’t know what.

 

There was no way out.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are appreciated!!


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